


The Crystal Ducks

by Toonfreak



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Animals, Birds, Duck - Freeform, Ducklings - Freeform, Gen, duckies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-04-08 10:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 15,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14103702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toonfreak/pseuds/Toonfreak
Summary: Join the flock of Crystal Ducks, as they overcome various threats to their lake in the park!





	1. The Crystal Ducks

The lake was a very fine place to grow up. It sat in the middle of a tranquil park that would only be disturbed periodically by loud children or families on picnics.

The baby duck known as Steven lived here. The duckling still had half of his original down- the feathers sticking out awkwardly. The top of his head included an adorable tuft of darker feathers which one might mistaken for a wig.

Unfortunately, Steven was the only duckling around- making the remainder of his flock extremely protective of him.

...and what a strange flock it was!

It seemed that the entire rest of his family had come together after being rejected from flocks of their own! The mass of birds consisted of various colors and breeds which (under normal circumstances) would never collaborate.

Yet, here they all were.

\----------------

The day started normally enough.

Pearl attempted to wake up Steven by nudging him with her bill. Pearl was a black-bellied whistling-duck...a slightly awkward looking breed with incredibly long, skinny, legs. Her legs' color matched her bill, both a vibrant pink. The rest of her plume was mostly brown, with a bit of white and black feathers on her wings for good measure.

"Trilll...trill..." Pearl nudged Steven again.

"Peep!" The baby mallard complained. It was too early for these things! The duckling rustled deeper into the nest made of feathers, hoping to get the point across.

"TRILL!" Pearl was having none of this tomfoolery! If the little one didn't wake up early enough, he would miss the morning meal! Pearl nudged Steven out of the pile of feathers.

The baby mallard yawned and smacked his beak in annoyance.

\----------------

As usual, Garnet was keeping watch over the odd flock. She was a very stoic bird...majestic and mysterious. Steven often wondered when (or if) she ever slept. Garnet was typically always roosting in the same spot: on top of a large stump border lining the lake- ever alert. She always looked so cool too! As a red crested pochard duck, she had a puffy brown plume on her head...only more noticeable by her red eyes and beak. Garnet looked down at Steven, and wished him a good morning. "Wak. Wa."

"Chirp!" Steven responded with glee, before Garnet readjusted her favorite sitting place, and continued to roost.

\----------------

Amethyst had a completely different personality all together. She was probably already at the benches. Elderly humans liked to sit there early in the morning, and throw bread crumbs. Amethyst was a bit of a glutton. She would do just about anything to earn an easy meal. She was a cayuga duck, with an included purple plume that looked dark as night unless reflected in the sun.

\----------------

Pearl encouraged Steven along toward the benches quickly. The nice old humans were already passing out bread, and Pearl knew Amethyst would eat everything if they dawdled.

"Peep! Peep!" Steven complained while being shoved about by Pearl.

"TRILL!" With one final push, the duo finally made it to their destination.

"DAWW! Look at the baby duckling! Here you go duckie!" An elderly woman tossed Steven a large piece of bread.

"PEEP!" The duckling thanked the human as Pearl had taught him, before nibbling on the chunk of food.

Amethyst looked at the baby mallard with a bit of jealousy. The humans NEVER gave HER such a large piece of bread...

"HERNK!" Amethyst begged for more food, but the old humans were now all distracted by the cute duckling...

Amethyst decided to act chummy. She walked as close to the baby as possible in hopes of receiving more bread...

"TRILL!" Pearl could see through her friend's rouse, and gave out a warning call! Amethyst had received enough bread! It was Steven's turn to eat!

"HERNK!" Amethyst argued back!

Steven looked toward his two friends in frustration. He had eaten his fill already. The human had given him WAY too much food in the first place. The duckling picked up a piece of crust, and presented the prize to Amethyst. "PEEP!" The baby smiled at his purple friend in approval.

\----------------

As the day progressed, the sun made the land warm. It was time for a swimming lesson! Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had already swam into the middle of the lake. The trio squawked to the young Steven in encouragement!

"PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!" The baby duckling paced back and forth on the shore with stress! He didn't WANT to go into the water right now! He was still learning, and was NOT in the mood for getting his feathers wet. "PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!"

"Trill..." Pearl swam back to the shore, and encouraged Steven to give it a try. The baby hesitated and waddled in and out of the shallow water several times, before (finally) gaining the courage to jump into the deeper part of the lake. To the mallard's surprise, his feathers were buoyant! He was floating! "PEEP!" The baby joined his family with enthusiasm!

"TRILL!" Pearl was prideful as she joined the duckling.

"Hernk! Hernk!"

"Wa!"

Both Garnet and Amethyst cheered in happiness as the group gathered together once more!

The remainder of the day was spent swimming around the lake, and catching various types of insects, fish, and frogs for nourishment!


	2. The Blue Duck

Everything stayed pretty much the same at the peaceful lake, until one faithful morning...

————————

Steven's head lifted from beneath his wing, as a massive din resonated from outside! Some loud, violent...something had awoken the baby mallard!

"Peep?" The duckling left the safe bed of feathers, and stuck his head out of the tree nook in curiosity...

A new duck had found its way into the peaceful lake. It was the fastest swimmer Steven had ever seen! The bird was able to zoom through the water like a motor boat! The creature had a blue plume and a magnificently white beak. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were all honking at the intruder in frustration from the shore.

The blue duck responded by zooming as close as she could to the sitting bench from the lakeside, and flapping her wings, splashing the elderly Humans and scaring the lake's source of bread away!

Steven's family honked even more aggressively at this! Garnet jumped into the lake and attempted to swim toward the intruder with anger! This strange blue duck was threatening Steven's food source!

"WOOOSH!"

The new duck didn't even NEED to fight! She simply swam past Garnet at lightning speed, and overwhelmed the duck with a massive wave!

"HONK!" Garnet breached the surface after being covered with water. She quickly swam back to the shore. The trio would have to come up with another plan...

"PEEP? PEEP!" Steven waddled toward his family with interest.

"TRILL!" Pearl immediately approached the duckling with worry. She knew the mallard was not a very good swimmer, and DID NOT want him getting involved with this...HOOLIGAN.

"Peep?" Steven looked at the new duck with curiosity.

"WAK!" Garnet shook her head in disagreement. Steven had offered to talk to the new animal in hopes of coming to a truce.

No...this new duck was too dangerous!

As the trio quacked in debate, Steven used his family's distraction to enter the lake, and swim toward the stranger...

————————

Lapis zoomed around the lake, before spotting a new, helpless, baby duckling struggling in the violent current! The blue duck slowed to a tread immediately, and swam toward the frightened baby to make sure he was ok...

"Sqeek?" The blue duck had a very high pitched whistle. She asked Steven if he was alright.

"P-Peep! Chirp..." The mallard was a bit dizzy from the current, but was (overall), safe and quite fine! "Chirp?"

"Sqaaa..."

The two birds exchanged names.

Steven thought that "Lapis" was a neat name!

Lapis was just glad that this duckling "Steven" was safe. She enjoyed playing pranks with water, and fighting for territory. This little duckling, however, did not know of such things...he was innocent when it came to fighting over nesting areas.

Lapis now knew why the crowd of odd ducks had been so angry and defensive. Lapis swam with the duckling back to the shore.

"Peep!" Steven thanked the new duck for her assistance, before Lapis spotted the duckling's family approaching as fast and aggressively as possible.

"Sqaa!" Lapis chirped at the duckling before taking flight into the horizon!

————————

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

Steven's family all yelled at the same time! What had he been thinking?! Disobeying them?! Putting himself in danger?! Approaching a stranger?! Swimming on his own?!

"HONK!" The lecture went on for sometime...

"Chirp...chir..." Steven answered sheepishly.

The mallard had disobeyed his family! No bread for Steven! Only healthy things like frogs and fish for now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY COW! I was NOT expecting such a grand response to this story! Thank you all so much!
> 
> Some of the credit for this AU definitely goes to the writer VonSmore. We were discussing Steven Universe AU's that didn't exist one day, when this silly one was magically created!
> 
> I (originally) wrote this as a joke. (The plan being I was going to write one chapter every day until April 1st- making 7 short chapters in all)
> 
> However, if enough interest is shown- would you guys like me to extend this thing past April Fools Day?
> 
> Also, to excentricaluli: Steven is a mallard duckling in this AU! They are usually yellow with brown patterns on the top as babies. They eventually grow into those ducks with the shiny green heads!
> 
> Also, Lapis is (literally) a "blue duck". They are an endangered species that comes from New Zealand. They can swim SUPER fast because they hang out in rivers with strong currents more than lakes...


	3. The Diamond Family

Sundays were terrifying.

Garnet looked incredibly solemn, as she warned Steven about the dangers of the morning.

"Wa-wa...WAK! Wobble!"

Steven shivered in fear! He had heard this story many times! Garnet was talking about the "Diamond family". Every Sunday, they would come to the park to picnic in their Sunday best. The group consisted of a single mother who wore a white bonnet hat, and her three young daughters.

"WAK! Warble!"

"Cheep!" Steven nodded. The three young children would always look regal. They wore fancy dresses of yellow, and pink, and blue. The children were incredibly conniving, however. They would lure ducks into their radius with sandwiches, before attempting to chase, pet, and kidnap the birds.

Unfortunately, Amethyst was always a very hungry duck...

————————

The purple bird was currently swimming juuuuust far enough so that the human cubs could not reach her. The three daughters began throwing food at the lake in hopes of getting the animal to come closer...

...no dice.

Amethyst simply waited patiently for the food to sink, and then dove into the body of water to eat the sandwich bits that had landed at the bottom.

"STUPID DUCK! Why won't you come HERE?!" The child in pink complained, as she stomped her foot in frustration!

The human dressed in yellow had an idea: "You're just not doing it right! Let ME try!" The child proceeded to pick up a massive river stone, and chuck it right at Amethyst!

"HONK!" The creature bolted in fright- wings flapping and feet paddling at maximum speed!

"SPLOOSH!"

The rock landed in the lake, creating a gargantuan splash! Amethyst was very lucky! If she had been a few seconds too late, the giant stone would have injured her for sure!

Incredibly spooked, the purple bird swam as fast as she could- back to the opposite shore! The humans couldn't get to her THERE...

————————

"Huff! Huff!" Amethyst gasped in exhaustion with her adrenaline running on full throttle! She hoistered herself onto the shore with the little strength she had left. "Huff...whew..."

Pearl approached her friend, and shook her head in disappointment. "Trilll..." She had warned Amethyst (multiple times) not to go towards the Diamond family. Perhaps her purple friend would finally listen to her now?

"Peep!" Steven had witnessed the entire, terrible incident, and nudged Amethyst in an attempt to help calm her down. What an absolute horror that evil Diamond family was!

"Wak..." Garnet nodded to the baby mallard. If nothing else, Amethyst's idiotic actions could be used to teach Steven the danger of the Diamonds.

————————

Meanwhile, the three human daughters watched the ducks from the unobtainable horizon...

"You idiot! You scared it away!" The one in pink pushed her sister aggressively! "How am I supposed to catch a duck for a pet NOW?!"

"Hush up! I was trying to scare it TOWARD us! The rock was supposed to splash BEHIND the duck!"

"WHAT THE?! What kind of a STUPID plan is THAT?!"

"Obviously, the wind ruined my aim."

"Wind?! WIND?! WHAT wind?! There is no wind here! You're just a lousy shot!"

As the two sisters bickered, the child in blue mumbled under her breath: "I-I hope the duck is ok..."


	4. Panthera leo

Steven was bored.

His family was currently eating bread from the bench dwellers. Because the duckling had misbehaved, he would have to wait to get his meal. Catching food took time and energy. It would be a while before his family returned for breakfast...

"Guuurrrgle..." Steven's stomach made hungry noises. Surely there was something nearby he could nibble on to tide himself over?

A small fluttering something caught his eye! It was a tiny moth! Moths were not normally a part of Steven's diet, but food was food!

"PEEP! PEEP!" Steven gave chase to the small insect in hopes of catching a quick snack! The little mallard was so hungry, that he didn't notice the insect fluttering into the thick forest as he followed in blissful ignorance...

\----------------

With one final bound, the duckling finally caught his breakfast! "Peep!" The small bird was a bit more full- as well as being slightly proud of himself for catching his own pray!

Steven looked up at all the large trees, and quickly turned around to start his walk back to the lake...

...

...the lake wasn't there! He couldn't see the lake! Where the stars was he?!

"CHIRP! PEEP! PEEP!" The baby cried in distress! There was no answer! Steven was lost!

\----------------

"PEEP! PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!..." the duckling continued to shout for help as he became more lost in the underbrush.

Following that moth had been a TERRIBLE idea! What was he thinking?! Why couldn't he have just been patient like his family had asked?! "PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!"

\----------------

Steven soon found himself upon a small clearing. It seemed there was something MASSIVE, gray, and fluffy sleeping on the soft grass in the sun. The animal breathed heavily as the oblivious Steven wandered toward the strange creature with curiosity. Perhaps this new friend could help him find his way home?

"PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!"

The fluffy thing stirred, before lifting its adorable head in curiosity and giving a grand yawn. "Merrrow?!" The stray cat looked toward the baby duckling with mild interest.

"PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!" Steven cried in desperation!

Most cats would have taken this unbelievable opportunity to grab a quick snack, however, luck was on the duckling's side once more. This particular breed of feline- a grey Maine coon to be more specific- was known for having a gentle and patient motherly nature.

As the cat stood, Steven immediately regretted his decision of waking the beast. This cat was (not only) HUGE, but was also bearing a massive mane similar to that of a lion!

"WAK!" The duckling began to run away in fear!

The cat simply rolled its eyes, jaunted to catch up with the baby bird, and picked Steven up with its mouth.

"WAK! WAK! WAK! WAK!" The baby mallard struggled in a panic! This beast was going to eat him whole! "WAK! WAK! WAK!"

As the baby struggled in the cat's maw, the feline simply trudged along into the wood at a slow drone...

\----------------

"HONK! HONK!"

The Crystal Ducks had been screaming for about two hours now! Their...their baby...was GONE! Where could he be?!

Pearl seemed to be freaking out especially! She KNEW leaving the duckling unattended was a bad idea! Why had she ignored that tiny voice in the back of her brain?!

Garnet had searched every nook and cranny in the park she could think of...with little success.

Amethyst simply decided to shout as loud as possible in hopes the duckling could hear her sad calls!

The three ducks were getting desperate!

A massive rustle in the underbrush of the forest suddenly gained the family's attention! The trio shivered in fear, as the flora shook violently!

"RUSTLE! RUSTLE!"

"MERFPH?" A massive cat popped out of the bushes! The entire family of ducks squawked in unison at the strange surprise! Pearl nearly fainted!

There...there was something in the creature's maw...

...STEVEN!

"PLAH..." The massive cat put the duckling on the ground. Steven was (understandably) shocked, surprised, and slightly covered in cat drool- but otherwise, perfectly fine.

The duckling laid on the ground for several minutes, before jumping up in surprise and making a fuss- just as he always did! "Peep! Peep! Peep!"

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all sighed in relief...

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

...before aggressively trying to scare the cat away!

"MOWRLPH?" The cat seemed confused by the gesture.

"PEEP! PEEP!" Steven quickly stood directly in front of the feline to make a point! He explained that the cat was gentle, and had helped bring him home when he got lost!

The three adult ducks stared at the cat- quite bewildered!

"Maouf..." The cat sniffed the air, before finding the tiny tree nook with the nest of feathers that Steven slept in. It seemed the family had caught some fish for the duckling, and had placed the prize inside of the small space. The cat forced itself in, ate the pile of fish, and proceeded to curl up on the feathered bed and purr. It wasn't long before the creature fell asleep.

The whole Crystal Gem family was speechless. While they were grateful to the cat for his service, they had NOT expected the creature to simply move in without asking.

"WAAAAAK..." Garnet shrugged. There was not much they could do about it now. It was NOT wise for a duck to reason with a cat...even a very nice cat.

It seemed Steven had found a new, massive, roommate- as big as a lion!


	5. GOOSE!!!

"Peeeeeep..." Steven couldn't sleep. The giant grey cat was hogging the whole nest! The duckling attempted to kick the massive cat using his flat feet...

...which only resulted in the gargantuan animal flipping to his opposite side- pushing the duckling out of his own nook all together. Steven sat in a daze on the late night grass for several seconds, before attempting to push the cat back into the nook using his head.

Useless.

At this point, the nook didn't even LOOK like a nook anymore! Instead, it looked like a tree with an odd circular patch of gray fur growing out of its bottom half.

Frustrated, the duckling found his nearest family member- Garnet in this case, and tucked himself underneath one of her warm wings. Garnet stirred, slightly groggy, before seeing Steven and tucking her wing over him properly to keep the little one warm.

\---------------

"HRONK! HRONK! HRONK! HRONK! HRO-"

The next morning a horrific new wailing sound filled the area! Steven groaned in response as his lack of sleep was interrupted by this...horn-like din. To add insult to injury, Garnet immediately got up to see what weird thing was disturbing her territory NOW...exposing the previous warm mallard duckling to the cold morning air.

"WAK! WAK!" The baby complained!

"Trill..." Pearl quickly jumped into Garnet's previous sleeping space, and replaced her family member to keep the sleepy Steven warm using her wing. The duckling couldn't fall back to sleep with all the din, but the warmth helped him doze.

\----------------

It turns out, there was a MASSIVE new bird harassing all the humans in the area! The enemy resembled a duck in looks only. Garnet watched from the distance in horror, as the beast honked and pecked at human children, pets, and the elderly.

Yes...she looked like a duck, but this animal was actually a goose! An Emden Goose to be precise!

"HRONK! HRONK! HRONK!" The goose bragged!

Apparently, her name was Jasper...and this was HER turf now! HERS! The goose continued its rampage, and frightened an elderly lady as she bit the human's leg!

"HUFF!" Garnet was fed up! This was still HER family's territory...and she certainly didn't agree with the violent behavior the goose was displaying toward all the nice humans that visited the park!

"HONK!" The duck bolted out from her hiding spot! Showcasing an incredibly aggressive attitude! Wings flapping, neck extended, beak honking, lifting the sharp talons on her feet in an attack stance!

Jasper only had a couple of seconds to look at the angry duck in surprise, before Garnet completely attacked the fiend from above!

Thus, began a massive scuffle!

There was honking, and nipping, and scratching, and general chaos, as the two birds fought violently. Unfortunately, Jasper was about three sizes bigger than Garnet. The goose overpowered her quickly, and the duck retreated, slightly injured.

Garnet swam quickly toward her family in hopes of getting some backup...

"HRONK!" Jasper was NOT going to let this competitor go so easily! The massive goose flew into the lake, and pursued Garnet like a shark!

"HONK!" Garnet screeched in surprise, and desperately attempted to out-swim the bully. She reached the opposite side of the lake just in the nick of time...

\----------------

Pearl suddenly stood up to help her friend with the strange goose.

Steven yawned in frustration...cold again. The baby duckling quickly looked about at all the chaos, as Garnet and the MASSIVE goose breached the shore!

Another scuffle began! All three of the Crystal Ducks attacked Jasper from every angle!

"HAAARRRONNK!" With a mighty call, Jasper threw the three smaller ducks! Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl went sailing!

"PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!" The baby duckling screamed for his injured mommies in hopes that they were okay...

The goose spotted the baby duckling instantly, before walking toward the little one with a most devious stare! Ahh! A baby mallard! If he was destroyed, the bigger ducks would lose their motivation!

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" The goose stomped toward Steven with intimidation!

"WAK! WAK! WAKWAK-PEEP! WAKWAK!" The baby ran in circles, scared into a tizzy!

"HRONK..." Jasper prepared to strike!

Steven froze- shivering in shock and anticipation...

"MRAAAWWWWW! HISSSSS!" Suddenly, (and out of nowhere) a massive, gray, fuzzy, adult cat tackled the goose to the ground!

"HRONCK?! HOONK!" Jasper gasped in surprise as the feline held her neck to the ground! A CAT! What ducks have a PET CAT?! How was this cat so HUGE in the FIRST place?! "GRONK! HRRRNK!"

"HISSSSSS!" The cat bared his sharp talons against the goose's throat in warning. "HISSSSS!"

"G-GRONK!" Jasper struggled...

The cat lifted his paw after the VERY obvious warning. The feline let the massive goose go.

"H-HRONK!" Jasper didn't need to be asked twice! The goose flew into the distance- scared as ever!

The enemy disappeared.

"M-Merf!" The massive cat seemed proud of himself, before rubbing against the mallard, and purring with satisfaction.

Steven's family soon recollected. The adult ducks were a bit scuffed up, but everyone seemed to be okay...thanks to Steven's new roommate- the mighty lion cat!

"Peep!"

"Trill!"

"Wah!"

All of the ducks thanked the newest member of their family in gratitude!

"MERF!" The cat puffed up his chest with pride!


	6. A Peaceful Saturday

After the entire fiasco with the goose, the duck family decided to take a rest.

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were all preening and tending to their various battle scars. Steven decided to be helpful and practice his hunting skills!

"Peep! Peep!" Steven returned, quite proud of himself! He had brought two minnows and a caterpillar!

"Trill!"

"Wah!"

"Hernk!"

The family chirped in pride!

Steven opened his beak in amusement! He was definitely getting better at catching pray! "Peep!" The enthusiastic baby waddled back to the water to gather more food for his injured family.

————————

When Steven came back, the massive cat had woken up as well. It seemed that the smell of the minnows had peaked his new friend's interest!

"PEEP!"

Steven had caught another small fish and some bugs. He happily brought the fish over to his hungry cat friend, before distributing the insects to the rest of his kin.

The Maine coon looked down at the miniature fish, and gave a sigh of disappointment. He humored Steven and ate the bounty, before trudging off into the woods.

————————

The cat returned about thirty minutes later, making the most horrendous crunching noise!

The feline laid down with his new family while feasting on a...something.

"Trill..." Pearl seemed less than optimistic about figuring out what the cat was eating...

...

...it was a fresh squirrel...or (rather) a freshly killed squirrel.

"Trill...umph..." Pearl gagged in discomfort, as the creature ripped through the fur and flesh and ate the meat on the inside.

All the ducks seemed incredibly disturbed by this occurrence. The cat was no fool. He looked around the party sheepishly, before returning to the underbrush of the forest.

————————

A bit more time passed, before the feline returned- full, no squirrel, and groomed clean. He had decided to eat his breakfast in private to prevent any discomfort.

The cat licked his chops, and began to groom his face.

"WAK..." Garnet reminded her family that the animal was still a carnivore, and had to survive- as they all did. Even if it meant uncomfortable situations.

All the ducks nodded in agreement.

————————

Because Steven had grown up SO much over the past few days, the Crystal Ducks figured it was time for another swimming lesson!

The family of fowl swam into the middle of the lake, before all three adults dunked their front half under the water!

"Chirp! Chirp! Peep!" Steven began to laugh! His family looked incredibly silly with their legs and butts lifted into the wind! The trio resurfaced, all with beaks full of edible plants and fish!

"WAH!" Steven's laughter transformed into a face full of stars and admiration! The technique might have LOOKED silly, but the baby couldn't argue with results!

With new determination, Steven attempted the technique himself...

...

He ended up dunking his head under water, and (somehow) managed to flip himself 360 degrees...backwards. "WAK!" The surprised duckling seemed dizzy and disappointed. This trick was more difficult than it looked!

Steven tried once more...

...

He flipped himself upside down again! "PEEP! PEEP!" Not only was the baby frustrated, but his buoyant feathers had taken on too much water! The duckling began to sink! "WAK! WAK! WAK!" The baby struggled to stay afloat!

"Trill!" Pearl quickly came to Steven's aide, and allowed him to climb onto her back until they reached the shore yet again.

————————

Pearl immediately began to groom the little baby once back on land. With her help, the feathers dried much faster.

"peeep..." Steven was embarrassed.

"Trill." Pearl commented that the technique was incredibly difficult. With practice and patience, Steven would learn how to do it eventually.

"WAK!" The mallard grumbled in frustration. Pearl couldn't help but smile. She certainly didn't mind her baby Steven staying little for a bit longer. There would be plenty of time for him to be an adult eventually...


	7. E-star

Several days had passed.

The baby mallard woke up next to his cat friend- completely covered in warm, gray, fur!

"Peep!" The duck was quite happy! It seemed that the cat realized he had pushed the baby out of its nest several nights prior. Thus, a compromise was made! Steven found that the large animal was willing to curl his big fluffy tail around like a scarf, to keep the duck warm! This was an excellent technique so that the baby could sleep peacefully, AND the feline could hog the nest at the same time!

The cat opened an eye lazily at Steven's call, everything seemed fine. The feline fell asleep again.

Steven noted that he had woken up a bit early. The lighting outside was still dark.

Why had he gotten up so early? Why was the atmosphere so eerie? The duckling realized what the problem was immediately. It was quiet...too quiet. There were no frogs, or crickets, or birds making noise. The wind howled.

Something was not right.

The baby mallard poked his head out of the nook to see what was going on. His family was still asleep. The duckling squinted in the darkness.

YES! YES! Across the lake! There was a group of gargantuan beasts! Steven could only make out their dark silhouettes! The mysterious black blobs were messing with the park flora!

"W-WAK!"

Frightened of the odd scene, the mallard quickly retreated back into his nook, and hid underneath the cat's tail. Certainly he would be safe here from the monsters? "peep..."

Steven began to doze, and fell asleep once more...

————————

When the sun rose from the sky, Steven was afraid of leaving his safe spot.

"Trill..." Pearl poked her head into the nook, and called the baby for breakfast.

"WAK! WAK! WAK!" Steven shook his head quickly. He had seen something scary during the night, and was afraid to exit his sleeping spot!

"Trill..." Pearl exited the nook.

Several minutes later, she returned with an odd object. It was a tiny orange egg...at least...that's what it looked like to Steven. The mallard climbed toward Pearl with a new sense of curiosity! Pearl put the egg on the ground, and the duckling pecked at it.

...

This egg was weird. It had a nearly hidden crease going down the middle, AND the texture felt..."off"...

"Peep?" Steven asked Pearl about this. She answered, by tapping on the egg violently with her beak! The item cracked open. Jellybeans rolled out!

"WAK?!" Steven was more confused than ever! What was this strange egg?! It had smaller colorful eggs on the inside! The mallard pecked hard on one of the jellybeans, hoping even SMALLER eggs would come out of THIS one...

...nothing happened.

The jellybeans seemed to have no purpose but to look pretty, and roll on the ground. Perhaps they were toys?

"Trill-til tra." Pearl explained that humans laid eggs once a year. They would put them in strange places for their cubs to find. Oddly enough, the eggs were always filled with strange things-instead of little cubs. Pearl didn't really understand WHY humans did this, but reassured Steven that the mysterious silhouettes the mallard had seen earlier were just humans spreading their eggs- like this one.

Steven seemed surprised! He had never seen a human lay an egg before...what an odd thing to do with one's kin!

Pearl welcomed Steven to exit his nook and see for himself...

————————

Sure enough, there was a plethora of eggs across the lake! Every color of the rainbow was represented! The eggs were in weird spots- on trees, in the grass, near the lake, on a patch of bushes...

Human cubs were collecting the eggs, and putting them in individual baskets.

"WAaaaaaah?" Steven was incredibly confused.

"Trill..." Pearl nodded. She didn't really understand the ritual either.

————————

As the duck family watched the human cubs collect the strangely colored eggs, a large, white van drove up into the park grass.

Garnet smiled at Steven. She had seen this truck before, and was curious to see how the mallard would react.

A man exited the car, opened the back of his truck, and pulled out a temporary fence. After hammering the fence into the grass, he grabbed a pet carrier from the car and opened it within the enclosure.

Some of the human cubs surrounded the fence in excitement! From the pet carrier waddled out five Pekin ducklings! All about Steven's age- but pure yellow in color.

"WAK! WAK! WAK!" The baby ducklings looked about in excitement, and hopped toward the humans- wanting affection and corn!

"WAAAAAA?!" Steven looked perplexed! There were ducklings! Ducklings HIS age, and HIS size! The baby mallard looked toward Garnet with stars in his eyes! "Peeeeeeeeep..." The duckling begged. He super-dooper wanted to meet these new potential friends!

"Wak-wa." Garnet shook her head. The mallard would have to be patient. Garnet explained that it would not be safe to visit the other ducklings until the human cubs began to eat lunch.

————————

Sure enough, as soon as the humans all started their picnic, the Crystal Ducks assisted Steven so that he could visit the other baby ducklings.

The mallard reached the shore, and waddled toward the cage with the domestic ducks in excitement! "PEEP! PEEP! PEEP!"

The group of yellow Pekin ducks turned to Steven with interest! The group waddled over to the mallard, and began to banter and tumble all over each other in excitement! "Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep! WAK! Wobble! Peep peepchir! Chirp! Ch-peepcheer! Wa-wak peeppeep! Honk worblechirp! Peeep-wa! Peep! Peep!” The din was stupendous! Loosely translated, Steven could make out bits and pieces of the conversation: 

"Hello wild duck! My name is Leggy!"

"I've never seen a duckling like YOU before!"

"I'm Doc, the leader! Do you have any corn?"

"What's it like? Living in a park?"

"WA!" Steven seemed overwhelmed! The massive group was asking him too much all at once... "Chirp...preen!" The mallard informed the group that his name was Steven. He also added two obvious questions: "Why were the ducklings here?" and "Where had they come from?"

"We're here for E-star!"

"The "E" stands for "egg"!"

"Humans like to celebrate ducks and chickens for one day...because we are awesome!"

"I don't know what the "star" in the name means..."

”Maybe because the egg animals ARE the stars?

"We're from the animal sanctuary!"

"YEH!"

"They bring ducks every year to get petted and corn from the humans!"

"It's fun!"

"Can't have an E-star without ducks!"

"Sometimes they bring chicks too..."

"-not this year though..."

The group nodded in agreement as they peeped away!

This amount of new information was somewhat overwhelming to Steven...

It was about this time, when the human cubs started finishing their lunch and jaunting back over to the petting zoo area.

"WAK!" The mallard suddenly seemed frightened! He thanked the nice group of ducklings for explaining this incredibly confusing day, before hurrying with his family back into the lake.

As the Crystal Gems swam along, Steven kept thinking how cool "E-star" was! A day where humans celebrated ducks! What a curiosity!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! The author here!
> 
> Happy April Fools and "E-star"!
> 
> OK...so here's the moment of truth... "The Crystal Ducks" was originally meant to only be a week-long gag. (A.K.A seven chapters)
> 
> However...
> 
> It has come to my attention that some people want me to continue writing this one!
> 
> Thusly, if you guys want to see MORE of the "Crystal Ducks", please leave a comment in the review section. I'm just curious to see how many readers would like me to continue this thing!
> 
> XD


	8. A Mistake

As the man in charge of the petting zoo watched over his ducklings during the Easter celebration, he noticed a small lone mallard chick. The baby wasn't...alone...per-say...there were other older ducks present, but no adult mallards specifically.

Being in charge of an animal sanctuary, the human seemed more than a bit concerned that the baby mallard might be neglected or malnourished. The man felt sympathy for the duckling...especially because the flock was so diverse.  
Normally, different species of ducks didn't get along very well at all...

\----------------

The bird stayed on his mind, as the man drove his truck back to the animal sanctuary. The little mallard seemed to have such a gentle temperament toward his flock of Pekin ducklings too...

...

Yes...the sanctuary would be good for the mallard. He would try to pick up the baby bird in the morning.

\----------------

Steven had finally gotten his bread privileges back!

"Peep! Peep!" Steven jumped up and down, as Pearl watched nearby.

The elderly ladies seemed excited!

"OH! The baby's back! Hello little one!"

"Peep!"

The woman proceeded to throw the mallard a massive piece of bread!

"WAK!" The surprised Steven gave a call of joy, before nibbling on the gargantuan piece of food!

\----------------

As the day lugged on, Steven and his family decided to nap in a group on the sunny side of the lake. There were currently no more visitors at the park, but the day was filled with a sleepy warmth.

As Steven and his family huddled together, a big, white, van silently drove up to the park's grassy field.

The human exited the truck with caution- baring a pet cage and net. He snuck up upon the round group of feathers. Seeing the mountain of ducks asleep, the caretaker threw a hand of corn meal to get the bird's attention.

"WAK?" Steven woke up with a start, and spotted the corn on the ground! FOOD!

The baby awkwardly climbed over his family, before pecking on the corn meal in ignorant bliss!

The human snuck near the baby with the net...

"WOMP!"

A TRAP! WHAT THE STARS?! "HONK! HONK! HONKHONKHONKHONKWAKWAK! HOOOONK!" Steven screamed in distress, struggling with all his might, scared as anything!

The human expected this. Any animal hated being caught in a net...heck- HE wouldn't enjoy it either. He knew, however, the duckling would be well cared for at the sanctuary.

The man expected Steven's family to be complacent. He thought the strange flock was taking care of the mallard out of instinct.

What the human DIDN'T expect, was the chaos that he was about to endure...

"TRILL! HONK!" Pearl immediately awoke, and ran toward the man in aggression! She proceeded to jump, and clamp her beak onto the human's shorts!

The man yelped in surprise!

Pearl didn't want to hurt the human...certainly not! She recognized him from the day before. The duck figured the dumb animal had mistaken Steven for one of his own ducklings. Humans were stupid that way. Still so...no one was going to take HER Steven away! "HONK!"

HONK!

HONK!

Garnet and Amethyst quickly joined Pearl in her endeavors!

\---------------

It didn't take long before the man was completely pantsed! Yelping, ashamed, and bushing horribly- the man dropped the net holding Steven, and waddled back to his van before driving off.

"WAK!" Steven shook the net off of himself, before sighing with relief. "WAK!"

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all nudged their little one in affection! The trio felt slightly badly for the confused human- but (at least) the conflict had been resolved with no one getting hurt.

Steven was safe...that's all that mattered!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Surprise! I ended up receiving an AMAZING amount of feedback begging for more Steven Universe...
> 
> ...and ducks...
> 
> ...and (strangely enough) THIS chapter's plot exactly! (3 requests to be exact)
> 
> ...
> 
> I guess the fic that started out as a lame, stupid, prank for April Fools Day- is here to stay!
> 
> (I haven't even had a chance to respond to all the comments because I received so many! Goodness!)
> 
> ^_^;;
> 
> (Laughs) I TOTALLY don't mind writing cute, funny, stories involving Steven Universe characters as ducks. It's a great stress relief (for both me...and you guys)!
> 
> With all the ugly news going around these days...it seems EVERYONE has a need for cute duckling stories more than ever!
> 
> WAK!


	9. The Duckling Problem

Steven was not acting like his normal self.

"W-wak...waaaaaa..." The baby mallard was sitting at the edge of the lake, staring at his own reflection. "waaaaaaaaa..." the little bird cried heavily, as he looked upon himself. He greeted his reflection, and told the mirrored duck that seeing the other ducklings on "E-star" made him realize something... he didn't have a fellow duckling his age to call a "friend". "waaaaa..."

The Crystal Ducks witnessed this behavior with a worrisome feeling. It was quite true...there were no other ducklings in the area for Steven to play with.

\----------------

The group immediately attempted to cheer the little one up!

Amethyst brought over some food!

"waaaaaaaaa..." Steven wasn't hungry.

Pearl nudged the baby in affection.

"waaaaaaaaa..." The mallard didn't cheer up at all.

Garnet led the massive lion-cat to Steven's side.

"waaaaaaaaa..." Steven showed no improvements.

Incredibly concerned about the situation, the three ducks quacked among themselves. Perhaps if they worked together, they could find something to cheer up the duckling?

The trio took flight! This situation called for extra measures!

\----------------

An hour later, the ducks began to return!

Amethyst had a soft duckling plush in her bill. She had (in fact) made quite a ruckus in order to get it. There was a nearby toy store that left its front door open to save money on air conditioning. The purple duck had simply walked inside, freaked out the customers, stolen the plush, and fled quickly!

Pearl had found a rubber duck. It was slightly worn-a human cub must have lost it in the waterways. The thing had been floating down a nearby river.

While both objects were an incredibly kind gesture, neither item could replace the company of a REAL duckling...

"waaaaaaaaaaa..." Steven thanked the duo for their kind gifts, but continued to cry.

Garnet was the last to arrive. Instead of a plush or toy, the duck had brought a small songbird with a white belly and grey plume- a mockingbird!

"WAH!" Garnet nodded to the bird.

"Peep! Peep! Chirp! Wak!" the mockingbird mimicked the sound of a mallard duckling perfectly!

"waaaaaaaaaaaa..." Steven continued to cry. It just...wasn't the same as a REAL duckling.

"Chirp! Warble?" The mockingbird asked Garnet. The duck shook her head slowly in disappointment. "Warble..." the mockingbird wished the duck well, before taking off to return to his nest.

"waaaaaaaaaaaa..." the mallard was more upset than ever now!

"Huff..." the massive stray cat was becoming impatient with the situation. "Huff..." in a random surprising act, the large feline picked up Steven using his mouth again!

"WAKWAKWAK! WAK!" Steven's mood immediately changed as he struggled! The duckling HATED being picked up so roughly!

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

Steven's parents freaked out entirely! The cat glanced around the upset ducks before spitting Steven out carefully. "PLAH..."

"WAK! WAK!" Steven was not amused what-so-ever! He honked toward the feline- wet with cat spit again, and angry as a poked bee's nest!

The cat sniffed at Steven, sniffed in the air, and made a very distinct: "Rawl! Merf!" sound.

The Maine coon began to walk toward the woods. He stopped, turned around, and meowed again. It was obvious the massive animal wanted the ducks to follow him.

\----------------

The Crystal Ducks had been chasing the cat through the woods for about two hours.

"Trill..." Pearl complained. There was a LOT of mud and muck in the area! Her feathers were becoming dirty!

Amethyst, meanwhile, was having the time of her life! The mud was fun, and cooling her off in the heat of spring. She was currently caked in the stuff, and now smelled absolutely horrendous! The purple duck figured she could take a bath in the lake later...

\----------------

Finally, after (about) thirty more minutes of walking, the Crystal Ducks and their cat friend came across a hidden marsh in the middle of the woods!

The body of water was crisp, and clean. It had lily pads, and a much larger concentration of frogs than Steven's home.

"Merf." the cat settled here, and began to nap.

"TRILL! TRAAA!" Pearl shouted to the heavens, frustrated and filthy! Stupid cat! There was nothing here!

"Wa..." Garnet was exhausted, but also surprised that a hidden body of water like this existed in the woods.

Steven looked around in curiosity. At least they had found a safe spot in case of danger...not to mention a surprising source of frogs for food.

...and then, the group heard it.

It was faint...at first...but the sound was definitely becoming closer! It was the sound of a mallard!

"Peep? Peep! Wak?!" Sure enough, a family of ducks swam around the corner into view! A mom, dad, and baby!

"WAA! CHIRP! CHIRP!" Steven bounced with excitement! Another duckling, just...like...him! "WAA!" Steven yelled toward the duckling with a new sparked enthusiasm! His name was Steven! Steven!

"P-Peep..." The other duckling answered his call- slightly shy and quiet.

Her name was Connie.


	10. Connie

Connie! The duckling's name was Connie! What a nice name! Steven began to trudge over to the other duckling, but a massive warning: "HONK!" stopped him in his tracks!

It was the mommy mallard. She looked over the incredibly strange flock in judgement. NONE of the OTHER adult ducks from this flock were mallards, there was a MASSIVE cat present, and one of the parents seemed to be entirely caked in mud too!

RIFF-RAFF!

"HONK! HONK!" The mom's name was Priyanka, and she did NOT approve of her daughter playing with this group of weirdos!

"Worble..." Connie's dad, Doug, attempted to calm his spouse down.

Garnet decided to step into the conversation: "Wak-wa-cheer. W-wrk honk..." she explained that their wonderful Steven was an incredibly well-behaved mallard! She also added that the ducking had been quite upset as of recent. There were no other baby ducklings in their area to play with.

Steven blushed horribly at this. He didn't want Garnet telling them ALL that detail...it made him sound desperate!

The new family approached the shore cautiously. The parents began to squabble amongst themselves.

Connie approached Steven, still very shy and quiet. "Peep?" Did Steven want to play?!

...of COURSE he did!

"Wak! Chirp?" The polite mallard asked his new friend if she had a specific game in mind.

"Per-Peep!"

Follow the Leader! An excellent choice! Connie flapped her little wings three times! Steven mimicked, and did the same!

The new friend entered the marsh and swam in a circle. Steven followed!

"WAK!"

"WAK!"

One duckling poofed up her feathers, the other did the same!

Connie noted that Steven was really good at this game...despite having no duckling friends. She had to come up with something more difficult! Connie dunked her front half into the water, and came back up with some water grass in her mouth!

"Gulp..." Steven seemed nervous. He attempted this trick once more...only to be flipped 360 degrees backwards again! "WAK!" He had lost...the baby quickly shook the extra water off of his down, wearing a sheepish grin!

"Peep! Peep! Peep!" Connie laughed slightly! What fun this new friend was!

The duo didn't realize it, but their guardians had been watching them play this entire time. Priyanka seemed pleasantly surprised! She hadn't seen her daughter this happy in WEEKS.

"Mmmph..wak wa..." Connie's mom decided to cave in. She informed the Crystal Ducks that they could visit on Sundays so that their children could play together!

Pearl nodded at this compromise! It's not like they could do much on Sundays at the park anyway...not with the Diamond family sulking about. This bog was a perfect hiding spot from those monster human cubs!

The families watched over their little ones, as they bantered and got to know each other a bit better. The two new friends played for HOURS before it was time to go home...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's the author again!
> 
> I just wanted to let you know...the next chapter might take a bit longer to write and post.
> 
> I seem to be going through minor writer's block (not to mention, I'm dealing with "fun" health stuff again....weeeeeee....)
> 
> UGH. 
> 
> ...
> 
> Well, on the bright side: at least I got this short chapter up before my muse died again! Huzzah for the little things! 
> 
> XD


	11. The Thief

Steven woke up the next morning inside of his tree nook. The baby mallard yawned, before trudging through the lion-cat's fur, and facing the new sunrise!

While everything was calm at first, Steven quickly noticed that Pearl seemed to be looking for something in haste!

"Wak?"

"TRILL!"

Apparently, Pearl had found a shiny something on the way back from Connie's bog, and wished to show it to the little mallard. Steven had fallen asleep, and had to be carried on the way back to the lake.

"Trill..." the duck lowered her head in disappointment. She thought the item would have made a wonderful gift too...

"Peep!" Steven leaned against Pearl in affection. It was the thought that counted! All the duckling REALLY needed was his family.

"Trill!" Pearl ruffled Steven's head feathers in affection using her bill! He was such a kind duckling!

\----------------

Meanwhile, a mysterious pair of eyes watched the scene from the underbrush. It was a falcated duck. She had a green, triangular head of down and a gray body. Her tail feathers were twisted into beautiful curls. The mysterious stranger had a shiny object in her beak that she had stolen from the bigger duck...a piece of tin foil!

"(Geh-Geh-Geh-Geh...)" The falcated duck cackled to herself with a rapid chirp silently! She had gotten away with her minimal crime! The creature took the tin foil piece, and snuck away into the brush...

\----------------

As the days crept by, the Crystal Gems noted that more items were mysteriously disappearing!

A Human child cried when her favorite toy marble vanished!

A man cursed! His pants pocket had a hole in them! He searched the grass for the coins that had fallen out, but could not locate them. The human huffed in frustration!

Garnet began to scan the shore more carefully. It was obvious that there was a thief somewhere nearby! She spotted a human family enjoying a picnic. One of the people opened their bottle of soda, and dropped the shiny cap on the ground.

Garnet suddenly spotted something in the bushes near the family! YES! It was (yet another), mysterious duck! The thief glanced around the area quickly, before waddling up to the family's picnic blanket, and swiping the shiny bottle cap!

"WAAA!" Garnet took flight quickly in pursuit! She had found the thief!

"Geh-Geh-Geh..." the robber cackled quickly before running off into the distance! By the time Garnet made it to the other side of the lake, the burglar was long gone.

\----------------

"WA! Wak!" Garnet explained the situation to her family.

"Trill!" Pearl shouted in frustration! Certainly this new duck had stolen Steven's special present?

Garnet nodded. They needed a trap in order to catch this burden!

\----------------

The little mallard's family spent the entire next day collecting shiny things (mostly from the communal garbage can).

"Waaaaaaaaaaa..." Steven didn't like being the "bait". The mallard was currently settled among a pile of shiny garbage-mostly aluminum can tops. The pile smelled horrendous. "Waaaaaaaaaa..."

The remainder of the Crystal Ducks were hidden among the flora- ready to strike and catch the criminal!

...

Hours passed. Steven had fallen asleep long ago. The afternoon sun warmed the land...

Suddenly, a mysterious set of eyes spotted the duckling from the forest! The baby was fast asleep, and currently nesting on a treasure trove of shiny goodies! The new duck did not want to wake the duckling, but certainly taking one piece of metal wouldn't hurt?

The falcated duck slowly snuck up on the baby, and grabbed one of the aluminum can tops carefully with her beak...

"HONK!HONK!" Steven woke up with a start! Something underneath him had moved unexpectedly!

There was an immediate scuffle, as the duckling's three moms jumped from their hiding spot, and tackled the thief in surprise!

"GEH! GEH!" As it turned out, the intruder was a much better thief than a fighter. She gave up easily-almost immediately!

...

After the situation had calmed down a bit, the falcated duck sheepishly began to explain herself. "Geh...ehhhhhhhhh..."

Her name was Peridot, and she blamed her burglary on an artistic eye. She was attempting to create a nest like no one had ever seen before! She was going for a theme...shiny things, and stuff made of metal!

Steven's entire family thought she was nuts.

"Geh! Geh!" Peridot asked the family to follow her, just to prove she wasn't crazy.

\----------------

Sure enough, there was a massive nest made out of metal bits in the middle of the woods!

"Geh! Ge!" Peridot explained that this piece of art was a nonfunctional piece- and was currently going for five fish and two slices of bread! A hefty sum!

"TRILL!" Pearl spotted the piece of tin foil she was going to gift to Steven! She nipped her item out of the nest in a huff!

"HONK! HONK!" Peridot screamed at the duck in aggression! How dare she mess with her beautiful piece of art!"

"Trill!" This was STEVEN'S gift! Pearl handed the sheet of metal to the mallard.

"WAPH!" The duckling thanked Pearl through a full beak. The piece of foil really was lovely! He would use it to decorate the wall of his nook!

Pearl smiled in pride before turning back to Peridot. "TRILL! HONK! HONK!" NO MORE STEALING! BE NICE TO THE HUMANS!

"geh." Peridot dropped her head in shame.

"HERNK! HERNK!" Amethyst seemed to like the art! She suggested that Peridot use natural stuff from the forest instead of Human-made items.

"Gehhhhh...GEH!" After thinking about it for a bit, Peridot nodded in agreement. YES! This seemed like a reasonable compromise! Peridot smiled and offered her new neighbors a bottle cap of peace!


	12. Hide and Nap

It was Amethyst's turn to watch Steven while Garnet and Pearl went hunting for food. Steven was SUPER excited! Despite Pearl's constant nagging, Amethyst had a fairly chillax attitude toward babysitting in general. The cayuga duck was currently napping in the sun.

"Peep! PEEP! PEEP!PEEP!PEEP!PEEP!" Steven started annoying the adult duck- making quite a din! The duckling didn't want to sleep! He wanted to play!

"Hernk..." Amethyst opened one of her eyes in annoyance.

"WAK! WAK!" Steven flapped his wings in excitement!

"SIGH..." Amethyst yawned and stood up with fatigue. It looked like she wasn't going to get her mid-afternoon nap...oh well... "Hernk-rnk?" Amethyst smiled at the duckling and asked him what he wanted to do!

"Wak!" Steven looked around in excitement! What should he do? What should he do?! Steven suddenly came up with an idea! "Peep-wak!" Hide and seek! Amethyst would hide, and Steven would find her!

"HERNK!" Amethyst nodded in agreement! Perhaps she could get her nap after all!

The mallard closed his eyes and began to count. Amethyst found a shady spot hidden within the brush. She soon fell asleep again.

Steven began to wander about after finishing his counting! "Peep! Peep!" He checked his nook...

...nothing there...

He looked in the long grass...

...not here either.

"Peep? Peep?" Steven was having difficulties...Amethyst was really good at this game!

\----------------

"WAK!" When Steven finally found Amethyst, he was NOT amused! The larger duck had fallen asleep again! "HONK! HONK!"

"Zzzzzzzzz..." the purple duck didn't even stir.

"Sigh..." Steven seemed disappointed, but laid next to his exhausted caretaker.

\----------------

It wasn't long before the baby was asleep too. Steven needed periodic naps as well...seeing he was just a young duckling after all...

Garnet and Pearl came home several hours later- beaks full of food. It took several minutes to locate the rest of their family, but when they did, all three: Amethyst, Steven, and the lion-cat were all napping peacefully in a bundle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today....YUP! Happy Mother's Day guys!!  
> XD


	13. The Race

Today was an exciting day!

A special flier had flown across the lake several days prior. Steven had found it, and asked his family what the piece of paper said...

"Wa-Wak!" Garnet glanced at the paper and attempted to explain. Apparently, it was almost time for the humans to have their yearly "model boat" race!

"PEEP?" A model boat? What's that?

"Worble!" Garnet explained that humans made super small model ships, and raced them around the lake. Whoever came in first place, would win a prize!

"Peep, per?" What was a "ship"?

Garnet pecked on the pamphlet and focused on the graphic of the sailboat on the front.

"WAK!" Steven seemed impressed by the picture, but still didn't understand the concept.

"Wk-wah!" Garnet said that the ships were vehicles that floated on water.

"WAAAAA!" Steven was immediately impressed! He wanted to build a racing boat!

\----------------

Unfortunately, Steven had NO CLUE nor any intel on how to build such a thing. He figured he should find something that floated on the lake's surface first.

Rocks were a bad choice. The duckling nudged a pebble in the lake, and watched it sink into the bottom.

A piece of bread floated for a while- but the food ended up ultimately sinking to the bottom of the lake as well.

The twig floated...But was very difficult to see.

Finally, FINALLY the duckling found a massive, colorful, leaf! It floated, and was incredibly easy to see from afar! "WAK!" Steven stood in pride! He had found his ship for the competition!

\----------------

The race was about to begin! There were professional ships of all different shapes and sizes! Some were wooden and incredibly detailed! Others were crude, and made out of odds and ends-like pool floats. There were paper ships, and motors, and sails!

While the human's backs were turned, Steven discreetly added his massive leaf to the collection of ships in the water, before waddling away quickly!

"ALRIGHT! It's almost time for the 20th anniversary of the park's "Model Boat Race"! Everyone take your marks..." a human announced the news using a megaphone! "Get set...GO!"

The boats began their race around the lake!

As the various vehicles bolted forward, the ducks watched from their safe place in amusement. Steven seemed to be especially excited! He was jumping up and down enthusiastically! "Peep! WAK! WAK!"

The Mallard shouted: "GO LEAF!"

"Trill?" Pearl looked at Steven with curiosity. Why was he cheering for a leaf?

As the turbulence in the water of the starting line calmed down, Steven saw his massive leaf had not moved AT ALL!

"WAAAAAA!" The duckling honked with disappointment! Why was the leaf not moving like the others? It was still floating...

"Hernk-he?" Amethyst had spotted the leaf from afar! She asked Steven if he had placed it there.

"Waaaaaaaaaa..." The Mallard blushed in embarrassment. He just wanted to be a part of the excitement...

The three older ducks seemed surprised at this answer! The trio nodded at each other before flying into the lake in a hurry!

"WHAT'S THIS?! Several ducks have decided to take part in the festivities! What an exciting turn of events!" The human announcer shouted over his megaphone!

Pearl and Amethyst used themselves as natural barriers around the racing ships. The two attempted to act discreet as they swam around the ships in circles- forcing the race to stop.

Garnet, on the other hand, approached Steven's leaf as quickly as possible, and began to use her bill to nudge the plant piece along the race track...

\----------------

Eventually, Garnet caught up with the human-made boats. Pearl and Amethyst swam back to shore.

The human announcer was most amused at this suprise! "It seems that a new competitor has entered the race!"

Garnet continued to push the leaf along, as the other boats continued their journey!

Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl jumped up and down with excitement, cheering their friend on as she caught up with the other ships!

"...and they're off again! Who will win the big race?!" The Human seemed more enthused than ever!

Garnet huffed and puffed and swam as fast as she could!

A whistle blew! The winner of the race was a large remote controlled sailboat! Garnet came in fourth-which wasn't bad...considering she had no sail or motor!

"WAK!" The Mallard cheered! His leaf-boat was a grand success! He had the best mommy ducks ever!

\----------------

Despite not winning first place, Garnet's picture made it into the local newspaper the next day as a "puff piece"! The title stated: "Duck Participates in Model Boat Race!: Steals the Show!" The paper included a black and white shot of Garnet pushing the leaf along in the water.

Amethyst managed to find the article for Steven while rummaging through some garbage.

Steven placed the piece of paper on the wall of his nook using some tree sap! "Peep! Peep!" The baby chirped with pride!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I write one of these chapters, I can only think about how hilariously silly this AU is!
> 
> ...and yet...you, my AWESOME readers, always seem to enjoy them! Thanks for all the comments and praise on this simple little story guys!
> 
> XD


	14. RAIN!

"drip...drip...drip...splash...splash...SHHHHHHHHHH!"

Steven woke up in his nook to the sound of a mighty shower! OH BOY! RAIN!

"WAK!" Steven flapped his little wings with enthusiasm!

It was a well-known fact in the animal kingdom. One of the few creatures that actually ENJOYED rainstorms...were the ducks!

The droplets of rain on the surface of the lake attracted fish! Frogs would linger in the mist! In the world of ducks, a rainstorm was equivalent to a magnificent buffet feast!

"Peep! Peep! Peep!" Steven expressed his enthusiasm to his cat friend! The lion-cat looked outside and gave off a hiss of disdain! "MRRRRRRRR!" The cat growled, and attempted to shift as far away from the nook's entrance as possible.

"Wak?" Steven was confused. He supposed the cat did not enjoy rainy days as much as himself...

The duckling left the cat behind, and waddled toward the rest of his family.

————————

Steven finally found his kin within the deluge. It was somewhat difficult to see because of the amount of water falling from the sky.

"Trill!" The silhouette of Pearl stood in the rain. Steven couldn't see any of his family members terribly well...just their outlines. Still, the adults led the little one to the lake!

Underneath the water, the weather did not matter to the ducks. The raindrops on the surface resembled insects, and attracted all sorts of edible marine life! Every time the family dove underneath the lake, they would re-emerge with a mighty bounty of food!

The four ducks spent hours diving and eating, diving and eating...until they had all had their fill! The group then began collecting edible plants, and placing them on the lake's shore to dry. This food would be stored for a later time. Several puddles and miniature lakes had formed around the area from the extensive downpour as well. The ducks proceeded to place some of the extra living fish into the small bodies of water- just to keep the food fresh!

When all was well and done, there was a grand storage of excess eatable plants and dead frogs...as well as several miniature puddles filled with fresh fish, tadpoles, and minnows for later!

————————

Steven was exhausted, wet, and full of food! What a great day it had been! The duckling decided to turn in for the night. It was still raining, but the mallard was obviously fatigued. The baby yawned as he entered his nook...

"MRRRRRRRR-MRAW!" The lion-cat backed away from the wet duckling quickly with little amusement.

Steven instinctively shook the extra water off of his down! Droplets of wet went flinging around in every direction!

"MAOW! HISSSS!" The Maine coon hissed in aggravation! The duckling had gotten water EVERYWHERE!

"MAOW!" The cat used his paw to drag the duckling toward him, and immediately began to lick him dry. It was not safe for a baby to stay so soaked!

As the cat groomed, Steven relaxed. His feathers dried...the duckling began to doze.

Warm, and with a stomach full of food, Steven fell asleep once more!


	15. Sludge

It was the middle of the night when a massive red truck backed up towards the lake in the park. A mysterious stranger exited the vehicle before chucking several unmarked tubs of waste and trash bags into the water.

The human quickly entered his car again, before driving off...tires screeching in a hurry!

\----------------

Steven woke up to a smell most foul!

"WAAAAAK!" The baby mallard shoved his face into the lion-cat's tail...trying to block out the stench!

There was a din going on outside...both from the ducks and the humans!

The lion-cat suddenly awoke and stuck out his tongue! "MAOW! MER!" To Steven's frustration, the cat bounded out of the nook in distress! He ran into the forest in a fit!

"Peep...Peep...WAAAAAAA!" Steven attempted to cover his head with the nest's feathers, but the action did little to cover the smell. "WAAAA..." The baby couldn't take it anymore! He decided to follow his cat friend outside of the nook...

The baby could immediately see what was causing such a ruckus! The magnificent lake had turned into a strange mixed color of green and purple sludge. The entire body of water had garbage and deceased animals floating on its surface.

The lake...was dead.

The humans in the area were equally devastated! Someone had dumped all of their garbage into their beautiful public lake!

Steven waddled toward the water and glanced at the sludge waving back and forth on the shore. He stared at the lake with interest...

"TRILL! HONK!" Pearl grabbed the baby quickly before he got too close! "TRILLL!" THIS WATER WAS NOT SAFE TO SWIM IN! "HONK! HONK!"

The family of ducks stood at the lake's edge- completely speechless. Their...their home! Their home was GONE! What to do now?!

Steven's cat friend stuck his head out of the bushes. "HHAAALR!" His howl got the duck's attention, before disappearing in the brush again. With no options left, Steven's family picked up as much of the extra stored food as they could, before following the cat through the forest. They came across Peridot while walking about, and explained the grim situation to her. The party gained another member as the artistic duck joined them...

\----------------

After many hours of walking, the cat led them back to Connie's bog. The water here was still clean and full of food!

"Merf..." the cat tucked his arms underneath, and fell asleep near the water. Connie's family was swimming about, and looked rather surprised when they saw Steven's entire kin on the shore! What was going on?! It wasn't Sunday yet...

"Wak? Wak?" Connie's family asked the purpose of the kindly visit.

"HONK! HONK!"

"Trill..."

"WORBLE!"

The family all chimed in at the same time; describing waking up to the devastating pollution! Their home had been killed and poisoned by a mysterious stranger! The water was now toxic, and all the food was completely gone! No more fish! No more frogs or lake grass! They had no place to stay. Even the humans of the park seemed depressed!

"HONK!" Connie's mom was incredibly offended! She nodded in understanding! Of course the family could stay here until the other lake had been cleaned!

Connie approached the one new duck in the flock. "Peep?" Who are you?

"GEH!" Peridot flapped her wings with pride while introducing herself!

"Cheep! Cheep!" Connie chuckled in amusement at the new duck's enthusiasm!

\----------------

Thus, Connie's family decided to give their new guests the grand tour! The bog was surprisingly huge (perhaps even larger than the park lake). There was plenty of food and space! The ducks also showed off their bungalow! It was an overturned, abandoned, canoe!

"WAK!" Steven shuffled under the canoe with excitement! The other ducks followed!

"WAAAAAAA!" The baby mallard was clearly impressed! The house was slightly snug with eight ducks on the inside, but would work well as a sleeping spot...

"MAOWL!" The lion-cat attempted to squeeze himself under the boat as well...

"UMPH!" All the ducks grunted at the same time in discomfort! NOW the space had evolved from being "snug" to: "uncomfortable". The entire flock felt very stuck!

"HONK!" "GEH!" "TRILL!" "HONK! HONK!" The group made a din while struggling to exit the overturned canoe! The family finally managed to squeeze themselves back out into the open.

Pearl seemed embarrassed. A bead of sweat covered her brow. "Trilll-Trill-tri..." she suggested for only Steven and the cat to stay under the boat. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were used to sleeping under the stars anyway.

Connie's family nodded in agreement!

While everyone was grateful for the kindness, Steven did hope that his own lake would go back to normal soon...


	16. The Meadow

"WAK! WAK!" Connie's mother was warning Steven of various threats that were present around the bog. Apparently, humans were incredibly rare in this area, however, animal predators were far more common.

"Peep? Peep?" What could be more dangerous than a human?

"HONK! HONK! HONK!" HAWKS! BEARS! ALIGATORS!

"Chirp?" Steven tilted his head with confusion. He had never heard of these animals...

"Peep! WAK!" Connie told her mother not to worry, as she beckoned Steven to follow her. She wanted to show the other duckling her favorite spot!

\----------------

The two mallards waddled along before coming across a beautiful meadow!

"PEEP! PEEP!" Connie lifted her little wings in enthusiasm! The meadow was huge, and included seemingly HUNDREDS of strange bushes with spots of blue!

"WAAAAAA!" Steven gasped in surprise, before blushing slightly. "Wak?" It seemed the duckling was a bit confused. He was unsure why this field was such a big deal.

"HUFF!" Slightly peeved, Connie approached one of the bushes, jumped up and down, and proceeded to pluck one of the blue items off of the closest plant. She brought the tiny blue sphere to Steven...

...a blueberry!

"Peep!" She presented the gift to Steven. The duckling pecked at the round item with interest...

"WAAAAAA!?" Steven's eye's grew big as he ate the berry! It...it was food! These bushes were covered in yummy free food!

Connie smiled in content! Her friend finally understood why the meadow was such a big deal!

\----------------

The two baby mallards were in Heaven! The duo jumped and peeped in excitement, as they hopped up and down...picking and eating blueberries while skipping along!

"WAK! WAK! WAK!" Steven was in blissful ignorance, his entire front covered in blueberry juice!

"WOMP!" Connie had stopped in a sudden fear, as Steven bumped into her in surprise!

"HONK!" Steven yelped in shock! Connie shushed him quickly!

There was a GIANT furry creature sauntering down the row of blueberry bushes...eating as he wandered about.

"GRUUU-RAWRPH!" It was...a BEAR! A MASSIVE adult bear! Steven looked at the creature with absolute terror! He had never seen an animal THIS big before!

"(merph-chir...)" Connie mumbled to Steven, before slowly waddling backwards. Steven followed his friend- figuring she knew more about these scary animals than he did...

"SNAP!" Steven's foot broke a twig!

"RARLPH?!" The gargantuan bear looked up in surprise! Something was in his territory! Someone was trying to steal HIS blueberries! "ROOARR!" The massive beast let out a gigantic growl, which caused the two ducklings to waddle away as fast as they could in a fright!

"MAAAARRR!" The bear charged toward the two baby birds in a huff! Connie and Steven honked in a panic as the creature began to catch up with them quite easily! Connie looked about quickly! She KNEW...no matter HOW fast they ran; the bear would catch up with them eventually...

"HONK!" Connie spotted something, and told Steven to turn left quickly! The friend obliged!

Connie had located a massive bramble patch, and instructed Steven to run as far inside of the plant as he could! Connie followed soon after!

"ROOOAR! GRAGH!" The bear followed the two ducklings like a massive missile! He ran toward the hiding spot- snapping his maw violently! "AAARRRGGH!" The monster screamed in aggravation, as the plant's spikes dug into his face and paws!

Both Connie and Steven shuffled as far back into the brambles as possible! The duo shivered in fear, as the maw snapped and salivated its massive teeth in anger!

With one final thrust, one of the plant's thorns lodged itself into the bear's left eye!

"RAAAAAWWWLLLL!" The monster reared back in startlement and pain, before running off...retreating back into the forest!

...

"Waaaaaaaa..."

"Waaaaaaaa..."

Both of the ducklings sighed in relief! Thank the stars! What a terrifying experience!

"Peep, wak?" Steven asked Connie if this was a regular occurrence out here near the bog?

"Chirp..." Connie hesitated before nodding her head glumly. Her mother had shown her where all the bramble patches and hiding places were in case such emergencies occurred. Stuff like this was quite common in the deep forest.

"Huff...whew..." Steven lied down, and sighed in exhaustion!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks goes out to JudgeDreddSA for the chapter idea!


	17. The Scary Dream

Steven was shuffling in his unconscious. He was currently under the canoe, lying next to his cat friend.

"Mmmph..wak. Wak. Peep! Mmmmmph!" The baby duckling was talking in his sleep! It was always the same dream...always...

————————

On the side of an unknown lake, a nest of twigs sat. In the middle of the structure was a single egg!

"Wa-wah! Wah! Wak!" An adult male mallard swam from the lake after eating some fish. He reached the shore, waddled up to the egg, and sat on it with pride!

"WAH!"

This mallard's name was Greg. He looked completely identical to any other adult male mallard, except...there was a small bald spot on the top of his head where his green feathers grew. "WAH!" The duck stood up, and rotated the egg with his bill. He needed to make sure the object would stay warm on all sides!

The duck sat back down, and poofed his feathers to release more heat! As Greg guarded his treasure, he thought about his late wife. "Waaaaaaa...wah..." He shed several tears. She had been the most beautiful of female ducks! Shortly after laying her egg, she had gone to get some exercise while Greg helped her incubate the sphere. There had been a loud "POW!", a dog howled, and just like that, Rose was gone!

"Waaaaaa..." The duck wept even harder at this. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened...

Greg stood up, and checked on the egg again. It seemed to be safe. He hoped his child would hatch soon. He wanted to move to another location...there were just too many painful memories here...

As the duck settled once more, one of the nearby bushes shook violently! "WAK?!" Greg found himself plastered with fear! From the flora emerged two Human cubs! One wearing a yellow dress, and another wearing a gown of blue! Greg was unsure how to react to this surprise...Humans never traveled this far into the brush unless they were hunting. Little Humans didn't know how to hunt though...

The two children began to taunt Greg: "Here duck! Duck! Duck! Come on you stupid animal!"

The father attempted to ignore the duo. He had to protect Rose's egg! The children seemed to be playing.

"COME ON YOU STUPID DUCK!" The Human cub wearing yellow began to throw gravel and small pebbles from the lake shore!

"HONK!" Greg stood up in aggravation! Didn't these Humans know better?! Those pebbles were very hard, and could easily hurt someone! Greg waddled toward the duo with his wings flapping! He would attempt to scare the pesky Humans away! As the adult duck honked in aggravation, he failed to spot a third Human child- wearing pink, that had snuck behind his nest.

Greg waddled toward the two sisters aggressively...

"HA! I GOT IT!" The Human cub in pink had snagged Greg's egg!

"WAAACK?!" Greg looked behind himself- just in time to see his only family member get kidnapped! "HONK! HONK!" The confused duck charged toward the child in pink in a panic!

"HA! HA! Stupid duck! We got your egg...and there's NOTHING you can do about it!"

The three Diamond children headed to their mother's car, as Greg chased the trio in anger!

"HONK!"

The trio quickly got into the vehicle, and locked all the doors!

"HONK! HONK!" Greg cried in desperation! His...his egg! ROSE'S egg was inside! "HONK!" The bird flapped his wings, and attempted to scratch on windows using his feet.

Nothing was working!

In a sudden panic, the car began to drive away! Faster and faster! Greg took flight, and followed the vehicle as best he could from above...

...soon, the car turned into many cars! Country became city! Every vehicle looked the same!

"WAH! WAH! Waaaaaaaaaaa!" Greg cried in desperation! His family...his ENTIRE family had been taken away from him! "Waaaaaaaaaaa!" Greg cried to the heavens- vowing that he would find his egg no matter how long it took...

————————

"PEEP!" Steven woke up in a panic, breathing heavily. He HATED that dream! It was so scary...the Diamond children stealing families away!

...

Steven calmed himself, before falling back to sleep.


	18. Humble Beginnings

The next morning, Steven was quite upset! He squeezed out from under the canoe, waddled over to Pearl, and leaned against her for comfort.

Surprised by this kind gesture, Pearl looked down at Steven and could immediately tell what was wrong. "Trill?" The duck asked her son if he had experienced the odd dream about the Diamond children and the bald mallard again...

Steven simply nodded, and hid his face among Pearl's feathers.

"SIGH...Tri, trill..." Pearl reminded the duckling that she had asked every kind bird and creature she had come across. NO ONE had seen a mallard with a bald spot.

"Peep..." What if this odd mallard was super important? What if he just lived REALLY far away?

"Trill tra-ill Tree!" Than you will find him Steven! The flocks migrate together in the winter...you have to learn to fly first!

The mallard baby nodded in hope. "Chirp, peep?" Steven wished for Pearl to tell him the story about how he came to be. The tale always comforted him.

"Trill..." Pearl nodded.

\----------------

It was fairly early on a Sunday morning- before the church bells rang, before the bagels were cooked, before the worms struggled from the soil.

The three Crystal Ducks were asleep in their normal spot, when a new (slightly scratched up) car rolled into the park. Two of the vehicle's doors opened and slammed shut, as an angry Human conversation began between mother and daughter:

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU STOLE A DUCK EGG! NO WONDER THAT CREATURE SCUFFED UP ALL THE CAR'S WINDOWS! THIS CAR WAS BRAND NEW! BRAND...NEW...and YOU RUINED IT!" The mother was obviously NOT pleased. Her child howled in guilt, as she carried the little egg.

"I...I just wanted a pet duck...to call my own..."

"Ducks are WILD, DISGUSTING, creatures! Why would you want such a horrid pet?!"

"I think they're cute!"

"Well, you CAN'T have one! Now, put that egg back into the wild where it belongs!"

The little Human cub in pink sobbed, before laying the egg among the lake flora. "I...I wish you could have been my friend..." The Human mumbled to the egg before abandoning it.

As the duo walked back into the car, the mother made SURE to note that the child would be punished SEVERELY for her idiocracy once they were back home.

The vehicle's doors slammed, before the car took off.

...

The park was quiet once more.

Garnet had witnessed this entire bit. She didn't understand Human speech very well, but quickly flew over to the spot the cub had been messing with to investigate. This was HER territory after all! If there was something dangerous in the brush, it was HER job to relocate it to a safe spot!

She poked her head through the tall grass...

"...WAK!"

There was an EGG! The Human had left an EGG here!

"WAK? WAH!" That Human had just abandoned a baby! How cruel! How horrific!

"Waaaa..." Garnet shook her head with disappointment, before using her bill to roll the precious cargo from its hiding spot...

\----------------

The Crystal Ducks all stared at the egg in surprise! This Human egg looked different from the rainbow-colored ones they saw once a year...

"Trill..." Pearl had no clue what to do with such a thing! She had never had an egg of her own...

"HERNK!" Amethyst had MANY brothers and sisters in her previous flock! She mimicked what she had seen, and puffed up her feathers, before gently roosting on the sphere! "HERNK! ERK!" Indeed! This was the way to do it!

"Trill..." Pearl was relieved that Amethyst knew what to do in these situations. She may have been annoying at times, but seemed to have a knack for childcare, games, and the occasional prank.

"Worble..." Garnet seemed concerned. If this egg WAS, in FACT, a genuine HUMAN egg, how would they take care of it? Most Human cubs were twice their size, and required milk, strollers, and large bags full of food.

"Herrr..." Amethyst noted that they could figure out THAT problem when the time came. No use getting worked up over it! For now, they should focus on keeping the egg warm and safe!

\----------------

The trio took turns incubating the egg, so that they could all eat and sleep in shifts. DAYS went by with no progression from the sphere.

Garnet began to wonder if the egg was a dud.

...and then, one night...

"TRILLLLL!" Pearl had fallen asleep on the egg. She jumped, and gave a call of panic as a unexpected tapping awoke her!

The egg was hatching!

The three ducks awoke quickly, and glanced down at the white circle with anticipation! No one really knew what to expect, but the event was certainly exciting!

A small crack appeared in the egg! The baby was trying to escape! With another "TAP!" a beak appeared from the inside!

"HONK!" The three adults seemed most surprised! Last time any of them had checked, Humans did NOT have bills! What kind of weird Human egg WAS this?!

"crack...crack...PEEP!" with a maximum amount of effort, a baby mallard suddenly emerged from his prison!

"WAK!" Garnet was surprised, but also relieved. She recognized what species the baby was immediately.

...at least it wasn't a Human...

The baby shivered in the cold. He was damp with egg fluids, and exposed to the moonlight. "Herrr...Herrr..." Amethyst volunteered to sit on the baby again. Pearl was freaking out entirely, and Garnet seemed stunned. To the purple duck, this entire process was all very familiar...

\----------------

After some time, the duckling dried, warmed himself, and fell asleep under Amethyst. The adult nodded to both of her friends in satisfaction! The hatching had gone well! The baby was asleep.

"Trill..." Exhausted and overwhelmed, Pearl was finally able to roost! Garnet did the same. What a long and wondrous night it had been!

\----------------

"Trill!" Pearl finished the story by telling the mallard they had named him "Steven"- after a kindly, elderly, Human who used to keep the park clean and bring the ducks extra bread!

"Peep! Peep..." Steven always enjoyed stories of the past- but to this day, he was terribly confused! HOW and WHY the Diamond in pink had left him here...where had he come from? "Wak...wa?" The baby asked Pearl if the Diamond child was his ORIGINAL mom?

"Trill..." Pearl shook her head. It was impossible for a Human to lay a duck egg. The child must have gotten the egg from somewhere else.

"Waaaaa..." perhaps, Steven would NEVER know where he truly came from.

...STILL, he had three wonderful mommies right here! "Peep!" Steven snuggled close to Pearl before falling asleep again.


	19. Flight

"WAAAA!" Steven had a determined flame in his eyes! He was going to teach himself how to fly! "WAAAAA! WAK!" The tiny duckling flapped his pathetic triangle wings with enthusiasm!

...

Nothing. "Waaaaaaaa..." The duckling sighed. How would he ever find the mysterious bald mallard if he couldn't fly like the other ducks?! Perhaps he needed a higher vantage point?

\----------------

"Chirp!" Steven was proud of himself! He had climbed ALL the way up the side of a massive bolder! "WAK!" The bird flapped his wings with enthusiasm again! He prepared to jump and take flight...

"HONK!" Garnet spotted her baby at the top of the bolder, and yelled in fear!

\----------------

"HONK! HONK! HONK!" Garnet screamed at Steven in a rage! She had coaxed him down from the bolder, but was incredibly upset that he had tried to jump off of the thing in the first place! He could have really hurt himself! "HONK!"

"Waaaaaaaa..." Steven drooped his head in shame. He didn't want to scare his family...he just REALLY wanted to fly...

"HMPH. Wak." Steven would learn to fly...in time. His wings were still not big enough.

"WAH! PEEP! CHIR!" Steven flapped his stubby wings in protest! His wings were perfectly fine! See?!

Garnet smiled and tilted her head in affection. "Wah...wahhhh." Tiny wings...her only weakness. Garnet nodded in agreement. "Worble!" She would try her best to teach her son the power of flight! "WAAA!" Garnet spread her wings dramatically!

\----------------

Garnet stood next to her son in pride! It was time for his first "flying" lesson!

The adult duck stretched her wings to the sky! Steven mimicked and pointed his triangular stubs toward the heavens!

Next, the adult bird pointed her wings to the ground. Steven's attempt was much less spectacular.

Garnet stretched one leg and wing- and switched quickly, stretching the other side...

"WAK!" Steven seemed annoyed and impatient! What did ANY of this have to do with flying?!

"Worble." Garnet answered casually. Stretching was important before exercising! Besides, the stretching would make the baby's wings grow faster!

"Waaaaaaaaa?!" Steven looked at his mother with admiration. Garnet blushed slightly. She...MAY have given Steven a bit of misinformation on that last fact. Stretching made one's wings stronger, but didn't really help them grow. At least her little white lie would keep Steven away from that bolder...

"Peep! PEEPPEEPpeepeep! Peep!" Steven began stretching his tiny wings in every direction he could think of! Now that he knew the big secret, he would make his wings grow THREE times faster!

\----------------

"URF...WAAAA..." Steven was lying on the forest floor. He hurt ALL over! "Waaaaaaa..."

Garnet sweated in guilt. The baby had overdone his stretching lessons! "SIGH...worble wak..." Garnet explained that these things took time. Steven couldn't be so impatient with his exercises...he would end up hurting something!

"UFF..." Steven was as stiff as a board! He couldn't move! "Peeeeeeep..."

Garnet shook her head while chuckling to herself. She helped the duckling to his feet, and gently nudged him under the canoe so that he could nap.

The process didn't take long. Five minutes later; the baby was asleep again. "Zzzzzzzzz..."


	20. The Swan

Connie and her family hurried all of their friends under the canoe. After much difficulty, they even managed to fit the massive lion-cat inside!

The trio huddled together and shivered in fear.

"GEH?!" Peridot wondered what all of the hullabaloo was about.

"(wa-wak.)"

"(peep.)"

Connie's family had hushed into a whisper. The SWAN was coming! Yes! Yes! The SWAN!

"Trill?!l" the swan?

As if on cue, there was an immediate din outside!

"HERNK! HER-HE! HERnK! K! NER! HERNKHERNK!"

Amethyst suddenly raised her head in surprise! That-that sound! That was NOT the sound of a swan... "HERNK?!" Amethyst shouted in interest!

"(HONK!)" Connie's mother whispered and yelled at the same time! Hush Amethyst! There were ducklings in here! She would give away the family's hiding spot!

With a frustrated: "HUFF!", Amethyst left the canoe to confirm her suspicion, despite her family's protest.

\----------------

"HERNK!" Amethyst gasped! It...it was true! The ENTIRE bog was FILLED with cayuga ducks!

The massive flock landed in the bog in a bustle of excitement! Amethyst's eyes were filled with stars! She wondered...could it be?! "HERNK! HERNK!" Amethyst shouted as loud as she could...

...

...

"HERHERNK!" There was an instant response from the flock! Immediately about 30 cayuga ducks separated from the crowd, and swam toward Amethyst with glee! "HERNK! HONK!"

YES, INDEED! IT WAS AMETHYST'S FAMILY! All of her brothers and sisters greeted her with joy!

"HERNK!"

"AMETHYST! WE FOUND YOU!"

"I THOUGHT I HAD LOST YOU FOREVER!"

"WHERE WERE YOU?!"

"WE WERE WORRIED!"

Amethyst blushed horribly. "H-herf..." Apparently, she overslept during the beginning of a migration, and had been accidentally left behind many years ago...

Her family cackled in laughter! Typical Amethyst!

"HERNK!" Amethyst laughed along! How wonderful! What a grand family reunion! She would have to introduce them to Steven, Pearl, and Garnet...

"AAAGGGHHH!" Suddenly, and completely out of nowhere- a huge, white, bird fell from the sky!

"AAAGGGGHHH!" The massive bird screamed at the group of cayuga ducks that had separated from the flock!

"HONK!HONKHONKHONKHERNK!" Amethyst's family quickly flew off in fear!"

Amethyst stood in a shock for several seconds! Who was this aggressive stranger?! She had completely ruined a tender moment! "HONK? HONK!" Amethyst squawked in annoyance! What was the big idea?!

The massive swan turned to Amethyst with anger, and proceeded to scream in her face: "AAAAAGGGHHH!"

Amethyst squinted in discomfort as the aggressive call shook her feathers! The gargantuan bray was loud, annoying, and the swan's breath smelled SUPER bad!

Frustrated, Amethyst decided to return the favor: "AAAAAAGGHHH!" the cayuga duck mimicked the annoying bird and screamed back at her face!

"Herk!" The swan seemed shocked! If her OWN breath smelled like fish, Amethyst's breath was the equivalent to a dumpster!

Amethyst beamed with pride! That would show that snooty swan!

The bully shook off the initial shock of the duck's horrendous breath. "AAAAAAAGGGH!" The white bird quickly bit Amethyst in the leg aggressively!

"HONK!" Amethyst yelped in pain, before being forced into the flock with the rest of the ducks. The swan nipped Amethyst several more times to get the point across as the poor creature jumped into the bog!

The evil one looked over HER flock of ducks in the most ominous of manners, before yelling instructions: "AAAAAAGGHHGHGHGH!"

The instructions were ALWAYS the same. "ANY FOOD YOU FIND IS MINE! GET TO IT, OR YOU'LL BE NIPPED!"

"Hernk..." Yes Holly Blue...

The flock of cayuga ducks immediately began to dive and drain the bog of its bounty! Any plant, fish, or frog caught went to the swan! Holly Blue simply roosted on the shore as the ducks gave her ALL the food!

"HERNK!" Amethyst was insulted! How on Earth had this ONE dumb swan gotten so much control over an ENTIRE flock of ducks?! It was at this point that Amethyst noted that ALL the cayuga ducks looked terribly malnourished and skinny- while the swan was full and happy.

"MERGH!" Frustrated, Amethyst decided that she was going to take care of this problem...in her OWN way! The Crystal Duck swam up to the shore where Holly Blue was resting...

"SPLASH! SPLASH! GOOSH!" Amethyst flapped her wings wildly- completely soaking the massive bully!

"AAAGGGGHH!" The swan screamed in frustration! What was with this one cayuga duck?! None of the others had EVER stood up to her before...

Holly Blue flapped her wings in aggression!

"SPLASH! GOOSH!" Amethyst tossed more water on the swan!

THAT WAS THE LAST STRAW! "AAAGGGGHHH!" The bully charged toward Amethyst in a blind rage!

"HONK!" Amethyst dodged the swan quickly, and ended up bounding onto the shore where the pile of food had begun to accumulate. "HERNK! HERNK!" Amethyst quickly began to throw food back into the flock of ducks!

"WAAA!" The cayuga ducks cheered, and began to eat their fill happily!

Holly Blue glanced around the crowd in horror! "AAAGGH!" STOP! STOP YOU MORON!

A single cayuga duck mimicked Amethyst and splashed the swan...and than another...and another!

"AAGHH! AGGHPH!" Holly Blue took flight-overwhelmed and scared. She flew off into the distance in a panic...gone forevermore!

"WAAAAA!" Amethyst's family cheered in relief! They were finally free of the horrific swan's tyranny! They would now be able to eat in peace!

"HERNK!" Amethyst cried in triumph!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note: I just thought it would be hilarious if Holly Blue (literally) just screamed all her lines. All I could imagine was that goat on Youtube that yells like a man...
> 
> XD


	21. Siblings

After the massive flock ate their fill in joy, the majority of the cayuga ducks flew into the sunset! Only Amethyst and her family of 30 remained.

"Hernk! Hernk!" Amethyst attempted to lure the rest of her family out from under the canoe. "HERNK!" The swan was gone! It was safe to come out now!

Pearl bravely waddled out first...followed by Garnet and the little Steven!

"WAH! Wah! Hernkher! Hernk! WAH!" Amethyst's family cooed over the baby together in enthusiasm!

"Awwwwww! Look at the little one!"

"What an adorable mallard!"

"SO CUTE!"

"A duckling!"

"DAWWWW!"

Steven looked in all directions- overwhelmed and confused as ever! "W-W-WAK?!" The duckling honked as the massive flock ruffled his head feathers with their bills!

"Hernk! HERNK!" Amethyst chuckled, before explaining to the baby: these were HER siblings! Steven's aunts and uncles!

"WAAAAAAAA?!" Steven was SUPER surprised! He had NO CLUE Amethyst had so many brothers and sisters!

"HERNK!HER!NER!WAK!" The cayuga ducks laughed in happiness! It seemed their little sister- Amethyst, had found a new flock of her own!

\----------------

Pearl was not exactly...thrilled with the unexpected reunion. While- YES, she WAS happy that Amethyst had re-located her original flock, she was not...enthused with the family's behavior. Pearl watched in horror as Amethyst's siblings began to teach Steven and Connie various party tricks, rude noises, and curse words.

"Trill..." Pearl shook her head in disappointment as one of the cayuga ducks showed the impressionable ducklings how she could swallow a (fairly large) river pebble in one gulp.

"HERNK! HER!" Another cayuga duck interrupted the activity. "THAT'S NOTHING! WATCH THIS!" The sibling proceeded to dislocate her neck bone and make her head contort in a...extremely painful-looking position.

"HONK!"

"HONK!"

Steven and Connie both gasped with disgust and intrigue at the same time!

"TRILL!" How DISGUSTING! How GROTESQUE! Pearl waddled quickly toward the babies and used one of her wings to block the obscenity from the little ones!

"Waaaaaaaa..." Steven seemed disappointed. He was having fun...

"Trill!" Pearl was not going to have any of it!

"Hernk, hornk." Amethyst told Pearl to "chill" and "calm down". Fun party tricks, and banter never hurt anyone...

\----------------

As the night wound down, Amethyst's family pulled their loved one aside for a serious question:

"Hernk? Hernk?" Would Amethyst stay with Steven, or re-join the flock? The purple duck looked toward the baby, as the duckling thanked one of his new aunts for giving him some edible water grass to snack on!

"Merf...hern." Amethyst was unsure how to answer the question. She wanted to stay with Steven...at LEAST until he could fly on his own! "Hernk!" Amethyst smiled in response. She would stay with the duckling, and see her family again during migration!

All the cayuga ducks nodded in unison! Amethyst had matured and grown up quite a bit since their last encounter! What an awesome little sister they had!

With a mighty bray of love and kindness, the large flock of cayuga ducks took flight towards the stars! The massive family wished their little sister well, and promised the group that they would see them again during migration!

Amethyst sighed wistfully, as she watched her siblings fly off into the distance. "Hernk..." She missed them already.

"Peep?" Steven looked up at Amethyst with support, before nuzzling his mommy in affection. "Chirp!"

Amethyst ruffled Steven's head feathers with her bill, before leading the little one back under the canoe for slumber.


End file.
